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Monday Motivation – Be More Active!

A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to participate in an exciting event at the European Headquarters of Nike. Not only did we see amazing dance shows and new campaign videos but also got to hear about one of the latest issues to do with active lifestyle and sports.

One thing that really stuck to my mind was a discussion about the inactivity of children around the globe. Nowadays it is so easy to stick a child in front of a TV and keep them passive, quiet and out of the way. However, according to a recent research, the rate of active play and physical education has dropped 20% in the U.K., 32% in the U.S., and 45% in China. The research states that this year 5.3 million deaths will be attributed to physical inactivity while for example smoking, is responsible for 5 million deaths a year. That is scary! The challenge, of course, is that as adults we’ve largely become more passive due to the nature of work and ease of mobility. I hate to think that this will affect the life expectancy of a child.

In the event we had a speaker who is an important part of the initiative to get children to move: Sarah Reinertsen, the world’s first leg amputee woman to complete an ironman triathlon! Sarah lost her leg at the age of seven, and after being bullied and told she would never be able to do proper sports, she decided to show the world (and other physically challenged people) what she was made of. After failing the ironman at first, Sarah became stronger and even more willing to prove the negative people wrong. Nowadays she is known around the globe for her accomplishments and motivational speaches.

After the event, Sarah Reinertsen took us employees for outdoor aerobics and then for a run! I was tired after all the sports, yet I still felt so inspired that I ended up walking 10km on the very same day. Whenever I feel like I should move but feel too lazy, I just think about the people who are capable of swimming 2.4 miles (3.86 km), biking 112 miles (180.25 km) and complete a marathon (42.2 km) all in one go – some of them with only one leg.

Being busy is not an excuse to not take care of yourself. It is not hard to integrate physical activity in your everyday life. For example choose the stairs instead of an elevator, go to the shop by bike, or take a friend on a long walk during the weekend… You only need to get started and then it gets easier, even fun! It’s also important that children could learn to gain positive experiences from sports and by simply being like a child should be – active, curious and playful!

And as Sarah said, everyone should celebrate their body. And if you have a body, you are an athlete.

Anna

A 24-year-old Finnish-English traveler, sharing stories from the rainforests of Borneo to the beaches of Sri Lanka, and from the Sahara desert all the way to the Arctic circle.Current location: The Netherlands